Average Car Payment

Average Car Payment is not a term you’ll hear about from car dealers, financial managers, banks sales reps and financing experts. And except for here on MonthlyCarLease, you are not likely to find average car payment listed among any of the jargon and terms inside online car leasing guides. Yet ironically, this is the single most important consideration in leasing a car. Understanding the real payment in terms of what it actually means goes beyond the actual car payments which are advertised by car makers, dealers and in newspaper advertisements. Understanding what it really means, gives you a much better sense of what you are paying to lease or buy a car. So, what is your average payment and how do you calculate it? Your car loan might be $250.00 a month for a $30,000 car, but if you made a $4,000 down payment (or capitalized cost reduction), how much are you really paying for the car? Just because you’re money is no longer figured into the loan doesn’t mean it’s not costing you or affecting your monthly budget. There is a much more honest way to calculate a monthly loan payment. Let’s see what your actual monthly car payment means in real terms of what it does to your wallet and monthly budget.

How Do You Calculate Your Average Car Payment?

Your average car payment is based on very simple math. It tells us how much our monthly payment would average out to be when we consider the down payments and/or any extra fees required to lease the car. To calculate this, we will need to know the total cost of our lease. The total cost of our lease is determined by adding any down payments and additional fees to the total cost of our monthly lease payments. The total cost is a much honest take asessment of what the car is really costing us, but we can take it a step further and average it out over the months we’re making payments on the car.

Total Lease Cost =

((Monthly Payments x Lease Months)+(Down Payment + Extra Fees))

The result is the total cost divided by the number of months in the lease term.

Average Car Payment =

(Total Cost Of Lease / Lease Months)

So, can you see why—the average car payment—is such an important figure? If I leased a 2011 Honda Accord EX for $300 a month on a 36 month lease, but had to put $2,000 down to do it, my average monthly cost is $355.55. ($300 x 36) + $2,000) / 36) That’s $55.00 a month higher than the advertised payment of $300. While Down payments or capitalized cost reductions do lower our monthly payment, they generally don’t reduce our total cost of leasing the vehicle. Those down payments underneath the fine print of lease deals are subtle, but effective marketing ploys to make us feel as though our monthly cost is lower than it really is. Whether we are buying or leasing cars, it is important not to be influenced by the marketing psychology behind low monthly car payments. Some car manufacturers like Honda have recognized that some consumers don’t like the idea of paying money up front on a car lease and they have adjusted their car lease specials accordingly. Look for No-Money-Down-Car-Lease-Specials.

Can You Negotiate Your Average Car Payment?

Negotiating your monthly payment is as simple as refusing to pay any down payments, cap cost reductions or extra fees. Bring your calculator, do the simple math and know your facts.In fact, another reason it is important to know your average monthly payment is so you can compare it to the loan payment actually being offered to determine if it really saves you money, if at all, by putting money down on the lease in the first place. With car leasing, it is highly unlikely that a down payment will significantly reduce the total cost of the loan over the life of the lease. As an example, let’s say that a $4,000 down payment on a $30,000 car lease reduces your monthly payment by $100.00 a month. Over a 36-month term, that means you’ll make $3,600 less in monthly loan payments. In other words, you had to pay $4,000 down to save $3,600. In reality, the scenario might play out a little bit differently than in this example, but it illustrates how down payments can work in the favor of the dealer or negotiator of the lease deal. It doesn’t have to be this way, once you understand how and why down payments are used by the dealer and how they are completely unnecessary, you can begin to use them to your own advantage as a negotiating tool. Play along with the dealer. When he tells you that $30,000 car is $250.00 a month – explain to him how your average car payment is really $350.00 a month. Explain to the dealer that you’re not interested in putting any money down on a lease, but the $350.00 payment is too high. Your budget on that $30,000 car is $300.00 monthly. In reality, it rarely pays off to put any additional money down on a car lease in order to reduce your monthly payment. Look at your average car payment – and you’ll do much better at the negotiating table. Also, it pays to visit informative websites such as RealCarTips.com and Cars.com.

What is the Average National Car payment

According to the Wiki Answers website, the average payment in the United States is between $380 – $460 per month. Wow – you can lease a really nice, luxury car; BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Cadillac etc., for that kind of money. Unfortunately, a $380 car payment doesn’t get you much in a auto-loan purchase situation. Let’s assume you acquire a great deal on a 60-Month, 3.9% interest rate and put nothing down (usually not possible with a purchase) Even under those best circumstances, you’re looking at $21,000 car. Hello Civic, Corolla, Elantra, etc. And sadly, the national average car payment range does not take into account the down payment used to acquire that $380 – $460 monthly payment. Most people are putting anywhere between $500 – $4,000, or more when purchasing a car on loan. The real, national U.S car payment when down payments are figured in to that number is probably closer to $500 – $650. Whether you lease or buy your next car, realize that there is more than one way to calculate and understand your actual payment and compare it to the national average.

Even Old Cars come with an Average Car Payment

Many so-called financing experts don’t take into account the net cost of owning an old car. Celebrities such as Dave Ramsey are continually emphasizing how important it is to own your car outright. This type of short-sighted thinking completely neglects the fact that old cars are liabilities. You had better have AAA if you are going to drive an old car because it is not a question of if it will break down, but when. New cars are not only more reliable, but offer a degree of piece of mind, comfort, safety, and security that is simply not possible driving used cars. Dave Ramsey likes to preach to us that you can Live without Car Payments, but he fails to tell us that there is always an average car payment. Driving an old car just means you are paying the bills to someone else besides a bank, mainly an expensive repair shop. If you’ve ever replaced a timing belt, alternator, radiator, valve covers, etc., then you know how expensive it can be to continue driving an old car. It always gets back to average car payment. What are you really paying a month for your car? When you consider the safety, security, comfort and financial certainty behind a new automobile it makes more sense then ever to lease new cars every 3-4 years.

2 Responses to “Average Car Payment”

LOL. I love how you make fun of Dave Ramsey and yet I have no car payment on both my cars afford escape 2013 and a Toyota corolla 2010. The only payments I make now is for oil change and the occasional tuneup such as maybe new tires.

You’re still making a payment whether you realize it or not. The cash you laid-out for those vehicles is your lost opportunity cost.
Let’s say you shelled out $25,000 for the Ford Escape.

I can make make over 8 years worth of $250.00 payments before you recoup the money you lost while my money is earning interest in the bank or mutual fund.
Eventually, you will have to replace them with something new, so the money you think you’re saving on a monthly payment has not only already been spent, but has to
be saved up for your next car. Yes, you might be able to save a few bucks over the course of 8-10 years if you buy wisely, but you’d be splitting hairs. It costs money to drive cars. Period.
Either way, what you are saving is nothing close to what the Dave Ramsey’s are telling you.